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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. stock — goods
  4. snap — to click
  5. stock — shares
  6. band — a music group
  7. land — ground
  8. prune — to trim
  9. current — of water
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. current — happening now
  13. bark — to shout
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. current — electric
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. land — a country
  19. land — to come down
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. trunk — of a tree

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com